Illinois Lifeline

              nia, 422 U.S. 806 (1975) to
represent himself. The
U.S. Supreme Court, how-ever,
overturned, recogniz-ing
that states may adopt a
stricter competency stan-dard
for self-representation
than merely to stand trial.
The court found a qualita-tive
difference between
what is required to plead
guilty after waiving counsel
versus the conduct of an
entire trial. It gave three
supporting reasons.
The court relied primarily
on “common sense” and
human dignity. Indiana v.
Edwards, 128 S.Ct. 2379,
2387 (2008). It quoted a
psychiatrist who had
Cont. page 3
By Timothy Capps, Staff Attor-ney
Shoe thief Ahmad Edwards
was charged with attempted
murder and other offenses
after he wounded a by-stander
while shooting at a
department store security
guard. Initially found unfit
to stand trial, he was later
found fit after treatment.
He asked for a continuance
to prepare his own defense,
which was denied. He was
convicted on criminal reck-lessness
and theft, but not
on attempted murder and
battery.
Indiana retried Edwards on
the two remaining charges.
Again, he wanted to repre-sent
himself, but was denied
the opportunity because of
his mental illness.
The disagreement between
Edwards and his lawyer was
simple: Edwards wished to
claim self defense, while his
counsel thought it a better
strategy to attack criminal
intent. Represented by an
attorney he did not want,
who presented a theory he
did not approve, Edwards
was convicted.
The appellate court and
Indiana Supreme Court
agreed that the trial court
had deprived Edwards of his
right under Faretta v. Califor-
INDIANA V. EDWARDS CHANGES THE RULES
DIVO: WHIP IT WITH EARLY INTERVENTION
By John Price, Staff Mitigator
Defense Initiated Victim
Outreach challenges the
assumption that survivors
are the prosecutor’s clients.
Research has identified sur-vivor
needs, some of which
can only be met by the de-fense.
That’s where the
DIVO liaison comes in.
Survivors often feel a dia-logue
with the person ac-cused
of taking their loved
one can help make sense of
a tragedy. Many appreciate
the role that DIVO liaisons
have played in helping them
deal with the stressful and
adversarial nature of the
judicial system. With
DIVO, survivors feel less
like distraught by-standers
and more like participants
in a process that affects
them profoundly.
Without a DIVO strategy,
Cont. page 2
OSAD CAPITAL TRIAL ASSISTANCE UNIT
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 SPRING, 2009
THE ILLINOIS LIFELINE
EXCERPT FROM
EDWARDS’ PRO SE
PLEADINGS [SIC]
“The appointed motion of
permissive intervention
filed therein the court supe-rior
on, 6-26-01 caused a
stay of action and apon it’s
expiration or thereafter
three years the plan to es-tablish
a youth program to
and for the coordination of
aspects of law enforcement
to prevent and reduce
crime amoung young peo-ple
of Indiana became a
diplomatic act as under the
Safe Streets Act of 1967… I
membered clients within
the public and others that
at/production of the courts
actions showcased causes.”
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
WINNING VERDICT
FORMS
2
NEW SPEAKERS AT
FALL SEMINAR
3
NEW CTAU BOSS
CHERYL BORMANN
3
BLINDED WITH
JUNK SCIENCE
4
ISP LAB SLAM BY
ILLINOIS AUDITOR
4
ABOUT US &
CONTACT INFO
6
New U.S. Supreme
Court Case: Fit For
Trial, But Not For Self-
Representation
Mitigation
Featured Case